Identification of a Novel MYO15A Mutation in a Chinese Family with Autosomal Recessive Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss

PLoS One. 2015 Aug 26;10(8):e0136306. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136306. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL) is a genetically heterogeneous sensorineural disorder, generally manifested with prelingual hearing loss and absence of other clinical manifestations. The aim of this study is to identify the pathogenic gene in a four-generation consanguineous Chinese family with ARNSHL. A novel homozygous variant, c.9316dupC (p.H3106Pfs*2), in the myoxin XVa gene (MYO15A) was identified by exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing. The homozygous MYO15A c.9316dupC variant co-segregated with the phenotypes in the ARNSHL family and was absent in two hundred normal controls. The variant was predicted to interfere with the formation of the Myosin XVa-whirlin-Eps8 complex at the tip of stereocilia, which is indispensable for stereocilia elongation. Our data suggest that the homozygous MYO15A c.9316dupC variant might be the pathogenic mutation, and exome sequencing is a powerful molecular diagnostic strategy for ARNSHL, an extremely heterogeneous disorder. Our findings extend the mutation spectrum of the MYO15A gene and have important implications for genetic counseling for the family.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Deafness / genetics
  • Deafness / pathology
  • Exome / genetics*
  • Female
  • Genes, Recessive*
  • Homozygote
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation / genetics*
  • Myosins / genetics*
  • Pedigree

Substances

  • MYO15A protein, human
  • Myosins

Supplementary concepts

  • Nonsyndromic Deafness

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (81271921 and 81441033), Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate, China (7138000008), and the Top-notch Innovative Doctoral Scholarship of Central South University, China (2014bjjxj039). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.